Page 9 of Reckless Storm (San Francisco End Game #3)

Hayley grins, handing over said bottle as she lifts her glass for me to fill. “Such a gentleman.”

“Always.”

***

“And you don’t think you should have told him that?” Hayley struggles to speak between laughter as I tell her about the time Luke was flirting with our teammate’s very off-limits sister, after spending the better part of a month complaining about Thomas and Lainey.

“What happened? Please tell me that your teammate saw it.”

“He sure did. But it turns out, he’d sent his sister over so that Luke would quit whining about Thomas.

We all knew Luke didn’t care that Thomas and Lainey were together.

In fact, I think he secretly loved it. But that guy craves being the center of attention and he was using that to keep him there. ”

“Oh, I am loving this. I need more Luke stories. Amelia will die for these. She loves to tease him.”

“Still? Even though they’re married with a kid?”

“Hell, yeah. People shouldn’t change when they get married.”

“Very true. I guess I just assumed they were different behind the scenes.”

“Nope. But something tells me you are.”

I take another swig of Jack and smile, bopping Hayley on the nose. “Wouldn’t you love to know?”

“Yes!” she squeals, making me chuckle as I top off her glass.

A fresh gust of wind blows through the space and Hayley shivers, tightening my jacket around her.

“I think it’s time we went inside. You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a breeze and I have your jacket.”

“True, but you’re practically naked beneath it. I’m well aware of how thin the material is on those dresses.”

Hayley has her glass pressed to her lips as I respond but lowers it with wide eyes. “And how would you know that?”

“I’ve taken a few off in my time.”

Doing a double take, Hayley puts her glass down and grins. “Now this I’ve got to hear. But first…have you ever slept with Bria?”

“I haven’t.” I snort. “We kissed in college, but she freaked out and begged me to pretend it never happened. She valued our friendship too much.”

“Ouch.”

“Yep.”

“So it wasn’t Bria’s dresses you were removing?”

“It was random hookups after events like these.”

“So we’re not as different as some might think. I was right. We’re going to be great friends. But I kind of like it being our little secret. It’s been fun alone out here. Like we’re sneaking around.”

A soft chuckle rumbles from my belly. “Fine by me. I’m ninety-nine percent sure that if the guys knew, they’d start joking about me falling in love with another one of my friends.”

Hayley grabs my arm as she laughs much louder than I did. “Your teammates are assholes.”

“Nah, they’re good guys. They just love to give each other shit. And this is the only thing they’ve got on me.”

“Because you’re squeaky clean.”

“You know it.” I pretend to shoot her with a finger gun and she giggles until her expression turns curious.

“You do love her though, right?”

“I don’t know about love.” I sigh, my expression tight as I grip the back of my neck. “But I like her. A lot. I’m playing the long game. It’s a talent I possess.”

Hayley snorts out a laugh before covering her mouth with her hands. “Shit. Sorry. I wasn’t laughing at your feelings. I was laughing at…” She trails off when I raise an eyebrow. “Actually, never mind. It’s awful no matter how I say it. But I didn’t mean it to be.”

“I get it. I do. It’s a little pathetic. I’m a twenty-eight-year-old hopelessly falling for a woman that doesn’t feel the same.”

“You forgot to add that you're a twenty-eight-year-old football star that could have any woman he wanted.”

I smirk and she laughs again.

“Anyone I wanted, you say?”

“Obviously not anyone or you’d have Bria .” She mouths Bria’s name as the back door opens and a few guys walk out. I pause for a second until my gaze passes over their faces with no recognition, and relief fills me.

“I’m just a huge source of entertainment for you, aren’t I?” I deadpan, making her smile. “Is that why you want to be friends?”

“Among other reasons.” Hayley shrugs and I can’t help giving her a friendly shove. “What?” She throws her hands in the air. “I can’t help it if your messy love life brings me joy. It’s nice to know there are others out there in a similar boat.”

“Oh, so you’re also fighting unrequited love?”

“Hell, no.” She mocks horror. “That’s never been an issue for me. But the messy love life…that’s something I can relate to.”

“Mine’s less of the messy and more of the nonexistent variety.”

“Actually, I’m the same. Though mine’s by choice.” She frowns and I mimic her expression as my stomach knots.

“Is there a story there?”

“Not one I’m interested in sharing right now. I think I might be a little tipsy.”

“A little? I passed ‘a little’ a while back. You’re a bad influence, Hayley Jackman.”

“And you’re a good one. I think we’re going to be perfect for each other.”

I stare at her for a moment as Bria’s angry expression flits across my mind. “You know, I think you’re right. To new friendships.” I hold up the almost empty bottle, and Hayley holds up her glass.

“To new friendships.” She cheers the bottle a little awkwardly before adding, “in secret,” and I burst out laughing when she winks.

This could be fun.